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Former governor and interior secretary Cecil Andrus is one of five prominent Idahoans appearing in a new ad campaign in support of national monument designation for the Boulder-White Cloud Mountains. Governor Andrus has called for this protection for the past few years, because Congress has failed to advance the legislation introduced by Rep. Mike Simpson in each of the last six Congresses.

In the print ad, which debuted last month in the Idaho Statesman (Boise), Andrus says, “My career has been about common-sense conservation in line with Idaho values. National monument status will protect the area's fish and wildlife habitat, while keeping it open to hunting, fishing and other recreational uses that greatly benefit our economy.”

Joining the governor in this campaign are Ketchum businessmen Bob Rosso and Tom Nickel, former state representative Wendy Jaquet, and sportsman Tyler Jackson, who all support monument designation “for businesses,” “to keep tourists coming,” “for future generations,” and for “plentiful fish and game.”

An economic study released last year by the Idaho Outdoor Business Council showed that creation of a monument could add $3.7 million to $12.3 million in revenue and support as many as 150 new jobs. As Nickel puts it, “There's no better investment in our future.”

Andrus, a longtime supporter of legislative protection of the Boulder-White Clouds, says the congressional stalemate helped persuade him to advocate for national monument status for the area. “It's time to resolve the debate in a reasonable way that will conserve and protect one of the nation's last great unspoiled landscapes,” he said. “I now believe that the protection so richly deserved for this place can only be accomplished by presidential action—the creation of a national monument.”

The campaign is cosponsored by the Idaho Conservation League and The Pew Charitable Trusts, which have been working to safeguard the Boulder-White Cloud area for more than a decade.